Proteolytic assays play an important role in the diagnosis of pathological conditions, such as abnormalities in coagulation, in complement systems and in the identification of infectous agents. Common reagents for this purpose are paranitroanilide (PNA) derivatives of amino acids and peptides. PNA is commonly used to measure proteolytic activity. When contacted with enzymes present as a result of a particular pathological condition the PNA is released. The presence of free PNA is measured colorimetrically. The released PNA is a yellow dye having an absorption maximum of 405 nanometers.
While PNA analysis if very useful, many body fluids, such as plasma, urine and spinal fluid absorb strongly at the wave length of PNA and thus give a very high background, which interfers with analysis of PNA tests. Applicants have discovered that it is advantageous to have an enzyme analysis system which works with a substrate having an absorption maximum at greater than about 500 nanometers, since this range (typically a blue/green color) provides high contrast and sensitivity and is not obscured by the background color of many body fluids. Applicants' have discovered and produced a series of such reagent materials which are effective in proteolytic enzyme assays and which can be read visually or electronically. Applicants' reagents can be used both in manual and in automatic analytical systems.
Applicants' have discovered that enzyme reactive acyl groups can be combined with a dye precursor, for example, a thizaolinone hydrazone (TH) or substituted thiazolinone hydrazone such as 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) and the like, to produce a reagent which can be cleaved by proteolytic enzymes to free an indicator dye precursor, which can be developed. Applicants' reagent and system produce a highly sensitive, high contrast test.
It is thus an object of applicants' invention to produce a high contrast proteolytic enzyme test reagent.
It is a further object of applicants' invention to produce a test reagent which has an absorption maximum in the blue/green range.
It is an object of applicants' invention to produce a test reagent which utilizes an enzyme reactive acyl group combined with a dye moiety.
It is a further object of applicants' invention to provide a method of producing an enzyme assay substrate which will release a dye precursor.
It is a further object of applicants' invention to provide a method of testing proteolytic enzyme activity using a reagent substrate which will release a dye moiety on contact with a proteolytic enzyme.